RESTAURANT REVIEW: Earl of Sandwich adds to State Street options

The best item I sampled at the new Earl of Sandwich was an English toffee cappuccino. It was like sipping a piece of creamy butterscotch candy, sugary sweet, frothy and delicious. I didn't expect to find gourmet coffee at a quick-serve sandwich shop.

Earl of Sandwich, which opened in October, is a small chain founded in 2004 by Robert Earl, a direct descendant of John Montagu, the fourth Earl of Sandwich. Montagu was the man responsible, in 1762, for the ingenious idea of putting meat between two slices of bread - hence, the sandwich.

The restaurant joins several others in the State Street area where the goal is to quickly deliver healthy breakfast and lunch fare in pleasant surroundings.

This place doesn't have the ambiance of a typical sandwich shop. Though there's a cafeteria-style set-up, the decor is upscale, with glimmering green granite table tops, recessed black bookshelves holding board games and warm wood floors.

Bruce Horste, one of the owners, says, unlike other sandwich shops, where the bread is cold and then warmed for the customer, his bread is designed to work best toasted. Also, Horste says much of the food is cooked on the premises - for example, the roast beef, which is prepared on site, so that it's optimally fresh.

The menu is deliberately small in scale and simple, targeted to breakfast and lunch sandwiches, soups, salads and a few desserts.

While the crunchy, thick and fresh-tasting bread generally was a highlight, the balance of the sandwiches didn't always fare as well. The ultimate grilled cheese and the Florentine sandwiches packed too much cheese for my liking, making both of these sandwiches too heavy and rich. The Florentine also was bland, though I liked the leafy green spinach on this sandwich.

The soups we tried - potato leek, chicken with rice and tomato - were watery and quite salty.

Meat sandwiches are the best bet. The Earl's Club featured wonderful roasted turkey; the beef 'n' bleu satisfied my dining companion with the freshly roasted beef. It had a great, bold flavor from the combination of bleu cheese, lettuce, tomato and delicious, seasoned mayonnaise.

Baked goods are an interesting assortment of prepackaged products. The server boasted that they're prepared fresh daily. I thoroughly enjoyed the muffin crowns - an interesting concept featuring only a muffin top. The berry was my favorite, while the Hawaiian didn't work; adding pineapple and banana to the overly sugary muffin proved to be unappealing.

Thumbs up goes to the brownie, infused with a gooey, fudgy, chocolate chip interior and the cupcake, yellow cake with white frosting and sprinkles, as good as you'd find in any bakery. The chocolate chip and oatmeal raisin cookies were soft, gooey and fresh. Bread pudding, however, was rubbery and bland; it's not the type of food that you should attempt to sell pre-packaged.

Service was incredibly friendly here on both our visits and food was delivered in less than five minutes. When they ran out of water bottles on our first visit, they insisted that we take some extra baked goods. This is a jovial place, where they seem happy to serve you and get you on your way quickly.

RESTAURANT REVIEW
Earl of Sandwich
307 S. State St.
Ann Arbor
734-213-6762http://www.earlofsandwichusa.com
The latest quick-service restaurant in the area provides breakfast and lunch sandwiches as well as soups, salads and desserts.
Hours: 7 a.m.-11 p.m. every day.
Plastic: Visa, Mastercard, Discover, American Express
Liquor: no.
Prices: Moderate. Most sandwiches are around $6.
Value: Good.
Noise level: Quiet to medium. It can get loud at lunch, when it's busy.
Wheelchair access: Yes.
Smoking section: No.
The Bottom Line: Earl of Sandwich is a pleasant place to go for a quick lunch. The food is basic and fresh, if not outstanding, and the service is swift and friendly.